Back to life: The elderly man (pictured) knocked from inside his coffin on January 8 in China

A Chinese family were shocked when they heard their father, whom they thought had died, knocking from inside his coffin, according to Chinese media.

Family members of the 75-year-old, who were preparing the man's funeral, said they rushed to open the coffin which was placed at their home in a village in Sichuan Province.

After waking up, the pensioner asked his stunned son: 'What is happening?'

According to a video report on Pear Video, the incident occurred at the village of Yujing, or 'fish well', in Sichuan Province, in the evening on January 8.

The elderly man had been deemed dead for about eight hours at the time. His family had started preparing his funeral service.

According to his son, Huang Mingquan, the coffin had been opened about two inches when he heard his father struggling and rushed over.

Mr Huang, a farmer, said his father had suffered from esophageal cancer for a long time, and in morning of last Sunday, he found his father had stopped breathing.

The man said during an interview with Pear Video that his father's body had turned cold and he did not move when he shook him

Mr Huang said: 'I had stayed beside him for a few days. Once I realised he passed away, we lifted his body to the entrance of the house.'

The man's body was put into a coffin two hours later.Upon hearing the man had passed away, his family members hurried to prepare the funeral. A pig was slaughtered and flower wreaths were made.

The video shows that the house was decorated with funeral couplets. A red cardboard house was put outside the Huang family too - Chinese people have the tradition to burn paper items for their deceased relatives to use in their afterlife.

The preparation of the elderly man's funeral were well underway.

At around 5pm, the man's son heard noises coming from inside the coffin. A funeral preparer hired by the Huang family also noticed that the lid of the coffin had moved by about two inches.

Feeling strange, they tried to cover the coffin properly. However, several attempts all failed.

Then the family realised it was their father who was preventing them from closing the coffin.

They immediately opened the coffin and discovered that their father was still alive. Moreover, the man was knocking from inside the case, using both of his hands and legs.

Lying inside his coffin, the confused father asked: 'What is happening?'

The elderly man is currently resting at home. His condition is reportedly in a stable condition and is able to respond to questions from the others.